Birthrite
by Misty Glow
Summary: Wolf LakeBuffy the Vampire Slayer crossover COMPLETE
1. Default Chapter

**This fiction is a Wolf Lake/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover that I thought would be fun to do. This has nothing to do with my other fiction, Sophia's Choice, and may contradict it in some ways.**

**Timeline: Wolf Lake - Where the last episode left off. Buffy - After the 3rd season ended and Buffy and the Scooby gang have graduated from high school. Willow is still with Oz.**

**This chapter: For those that remember Arthur Van Halen in the last episode of Wolf Lake… he's the one who did the blood transfusion of Ruby's wolf blood into John Kanin. He had an internet show about his quest. I'm making this internet show the reason for what's about to happen. Hope you like it, let me know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Wolf Lake and make no money from the writing of this fiction.**

**The Nutty Professor**

The red haired, green eyed Willow Rosenburg sat anxiously in front of her computer in her pretty suburban home in the town of Sunnydale, California. She kept glancing at the clock on the wall, hoping that her boyfriend, Oz, would be arriving on time. She didn't want him to miss the live internet show that was due to come on in a few minutes. She had been watching it everyday at 6:00 p.m. for the past week and she began to get excited at what it could mean.

A light knock on her balcony door announced his arrival and she quickly waved him in through the glass of the door. Oz came quietly into her room, in case her parents were downstairs. Her parents rarely paid attention to what Willow did, but he didn't want to get his girlfriend in trouble just in case.

"So what's the deal?" he whispered to her as he took a seat next to her. He had received her call a half an hour ago and she seemed frantic that he get here on time.

"There is this man, Professor Van Halen, who has this show I wanted you to see. He is a werewolf hunter," she whispered back.

Oz turned his head to study her face. "Just what I needed to hear, Will."

"Shh… he's coming on now, just watch," Willow said, trying to shush him.

The face of an older man in his sixties came on the screen. The picture quality wasn't very good and he seemed to be doing this show while driving, the camera set on his dashboard. Oz gave her a skeptical look.

"Well, I am scared now," Oz said, sarcastically.

"Shh…," Willow hissed again as the professor began to speak.

"_Good evening to you, my loyal subscribers. As you can see I'm getting ever closer to my destination of Wolf Lake, Washington. My sources have told me that a white wolf has just been captured in that area and is being held in a warehouse outside of Seattle. But this is no ordinary wolf, no sir. I have it in strictest confidence from my mole in Wolf Lake that this wolf is one of them, the vile, human hating shape shifters. So we are making a little detour to that facility where I plan on acquiring her. Yes folks, it's a female. And not just any female, but a white one. And if you were listening to my show on Monday you'll remember that the white one would be the Alpha female._

_Tonight I expect to have her here, in my mobile facility, and then we will be making our way back to Wolf Lake to find the Alpha male. My mole in Wolf Lake has assured me that he can provide the information necessary to induce a transformation. So, my friends, we have a very exciting week ahead of us. When you tune in tomorrow at the same time, you'll see first hand and live, a female werewolf. Now I'll be checking to see who hasn't paid their fees yet, so you best make sure you do that now if you don't want to be cut out of the show. See you tomorrow!"_

The screen went blank and Willow turned off her computer and faced Oz. "Well?" she smiled, "What do you think?"

Oz looked at her with the same stoic expression he always wore. "Short."

"No, I mean, Wolf Lake? Aren't you a bit excited that there could actually be a place where other werewolves are living together? Aren't you curious about this place?"

"Willow, this professor guy could be a total quack. In fact, I'm almost sure that he is. He said they captured a white wolf. A wolf, Will, not a creature. When I change, I'm not exactly all furry and cute looking."

Willow looked a bit dismayed. "Well, that's true…, but still, it might be worth looking into. There is something else I've been investigating as well." Willow seemed hesitant to tell him this next part.

Oz knew Willow was a wizard with the computer. She could crack into any security system out there and this made her a very valuable member of Buffy's team. He looked at her now, waiting for what she was going to say.

"Well, you know how you told me you were adopted… ," she hesitated in her very Willow-like way.

"Yeah?"

"I kind of did a search…"

"Kind of? Will, what are you trying to say?"

"I found out some things about your adoption." She smiled and lifted her eyebrows, like it was a happy surprise.

Oz started feeling a little nervous inside. "Am I going to want to hear this?"

Willow's face fell. "Well… I suppose I don't have to tell you. I was just thinking… you know… that you might be curious about… where you came from."

Oz sighed. "O.K. let's hear it then." Willow's face brightened up again.

"Well, first off, you were adopted in Seattle, Washington," she paused for effect.

"Yeah, o.k.," he nodded.

"Don't you get it? It's the closest big city to Wolf Lake! You might have originated there." she said, excitedly. Oz just shrugged. Then her face became serious. "I also have something sad to tell you."

Oz squinted his eyes at her, "What?"

"Your mother died in a car crash while you were still in her womb," she waited to see if he would have a reaction. He didn't. "The police report said that she was on her way to Seattle when a truck hit her car head on. They were able to save you, but not her. Weird thing is, the police could find no record or identification on her. She was a Jane Doe case until someone actually stole her body from the mortuary. What do you think of that?"

"I'm not sure, but it looks like you have a theory," he replied.

"I do!" Willow said excitedly. She loved investigating and this kind of mystery was irresistible to her. "I think the other werewolves stole the body before they could do an autopsy on it."

"Why didn't they take me back as well, if they were so worried about being found out?"

"Maybe they didn't know about you. I'm not sure. Maybe they thought you were dead or they couldn't find you or something. In any case, you were adopted pretty quickly and your new parents left Seattle that year and moved here. So… what do you think?"

Oz shrugged, "I think it's possible."

"Well, don't you think you might want to go to Wolf Lake and see if you have any relatives there, a father maybe?" she excitedly asked.

"Whoa… hold on," Oz replied. "Even if this Wolf Land.."

"Wolf Lake," Willow corrected.

"Right, even if this Wolf Lake did exist, what makes you think they would be happy to see me. We are not exactly known for our hospitality to strangers."

"Oz?" Willow sighed, "Just think, there might be family there. Others, just like you." Oz sat there thinking about her words.

"I have a feeling you have more to say," Oz looked at her carefully.

"Well, you know how I said we should take a little trip together, before the next full moon?"

"Willow…" Oz could tell where this was heading.

"No, just listen to me. It's summer and I'll be starting college in the fall, and I wanted us to spend some quality time together. So I bought two plane tickets to Seattle, an early birthday present for you!" She smiled.

Oz gave her a half smile. "Couldn't we just go to Hawaii or something?"

Willow looked disappointed at his response.

"I'm sorry, Will," he said, apologetically. He hated making her sad, she was so sincere. "All right, we'll go to Seattle." Her face brightened a little. "And we'll go to this Wolf Lake if you want." Her face brightened even more. He couldn't help but smile back at her.

"When do we leave?" he asked as he stood up.

"Um…well… tomorrow. It was the only good deal I could find on my budget," she quickly explained.

"Well, I suppose I better tell the band not to count me in for the next few gigs," he said. He bent down to kiss her cheek. "I really do appreciate the birthday gift, Will. Spending time alone with you will be great no matter where we go."

Willow blushed and smiled knowingly.

"I better get packing, too. Plane leaves at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow. I've got to tell Buffy, Xander, and Giles that we'll be gone for awhile. Maybe Giles can give us a lift to the airport." Willow was now in planning mode. Oz knew she would take care of all the details, she always did.

Stepping outside of Willow's room onto the balcony, Oz looked up into the night sky. Just a crescent moon tonight, he thought. He began to think about this town of werewolves called Wolf Lake as he leapt over the side of the balcony and onto the grass below. He shook his head at the image of hundreds of creatures like him running wild on a full moon night, probably killing each other. It's a wonder that there is any of them left, he decided.

Oz had never known control of his own beast. He was locked up every full moon by Willow and her friends to prevent him from the mindless killing he would do otherwise. He also had no memory of what he did while he was in that state.

Perhaps it would be interesting to talk to other werewolves, he began to think. Maybe they would have some good advice for him. He would like to see how they managed their lifestyles. This might not be such a bad idea after all.

-

**Next to come: Oz and Willow arrive in Wolf Lake!**

**Please send me a review and let me know your thoughts. Thanks!**


	2. Outsiders

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Wolf Lake and make no money from the writing of this fiction.

**Outsiders**

Willow and Oz had rented a green Honda Civic at the Seattle airport when they arrived and were now driving into the Cascades toward Wolf Lake. It was late afternoon and they were both tired and hungry from the trip. Willow checked her map again.

"We should be just about there," she squinted, following her finger along the only highway leading into that remote town. Oz rolled down the window, savoring the fresh scent of pine at this altitude. This place was definitely a treat to his senses, he thought.

"I wonder if that Van Halen guy got the white wolf," Willow mused. "I hope that hotel will have a place to hook up my laptop."

"I'm sure it will, it should have a phone line at least," Oz replied.

"I don't know. This place seems so remote. It didn't seem that far when you look at a map," Willow frowned.

"Yeah, well, if there are werewolves there, that would be a good thing."

They drove in silence for awhile until Willow let out a happy squeak. "Look! It's a Welcome to Wolf Lake sign. We made it!"

In a few minutes they came to the first stop sign in town. They craned their necks, looking around at the shops and the pedestrians.

"Looks pretty normal," Willow said, disappointed.

Oz gave her a half smile. "What were you expecting?"

Willow shrugged.

"Where do you want to eat?" Oz now asked, feeling his stomach rumble. "Looks like some type of diner up ahead."

Willow made a face. "Not really in the mood for small town greasy spoon. Think they might have a pizza joint around here?"

"Let's drive around and see, this place can't be too big." Oz turned right down the next intersection and kept driving, but it seemed they were leaving the main part of town. He was about to turn around again when they came upon a commotion of vehicles and people in a clearing. A man was being pulled from a big mobile home type vehicle with lots of antennae and satellite dishes on top of it. There were trucks, a police car and also what looked like some sort of ambulance.

Oz came to a stop as they watched the scene unfolding in front of them. The man was screaming about werewolves and accusing everyone there to be one. They were dragging him off to the ambulance and putting a straight jacket on him.

Oz said, "Isn't that your Professor Van Halen?"

"Oh, my god. I think it is!" Willow said, incredulously. "They think he's nuts. Oh, but look, Oz, that man is carrying a white wolf and putting her into the cage in the back of his truck."

"Looks like a normal wolf to me," Oz replied. "I told you he was a quack, Willow. Come on, let's go." Oz put the car in reverse and started to turn it around, anxious to get out of there as the man who put the wolf in the truck was now walking toward them with his mean looking friend. He drove away quickly, looking in the rearview mirror at the two men standing in the road, looking back at him.

When they returned to the heart of the town, Oz finally spotted a pizza place and they parked the car. As they were going in, another young couple was walking out. "Hi," Oz and Willow said to them in passing.

The tall curly haired boy said, "Hi" back to them and the pretty long haired brunette smiled at them. Willow and Oz found a nice booth by the front window and looked out, waiting for the waitress.

They noticed the young couple now stood kissing out front. "How cute," said Willow. "Seems like a first date type of kiss." Oz just gave her one of his half smiles and looked down at the menu.

"Well, let's see, looks like we have a choice of Sausage Galore, Pepperoni Powerhouse, or Mighty Moose pizza. Oh, and wait, they'll add Caribou chunks for an extra fee," Oz said in his normally neutral voice.

"Oz! Look!" Willow pointed out the window at the scene outside. A teenage boy in a red car had just skidding to a halt in front of the kissing couple. He got out of the car and stalked angrily up to them, pulling the girl away from the guy. "Uh oh," Willow worried.

Then something surprising happened. The angry boy threw the girl's date down the street with amazing strength. Even more surprising was how the girl grabbed the angry guy and threw him onto the top of his car, cracking the windshield. Oz and Willow looked at each other. "Werewolves?" Willow asked in amazement.

"I don't know," stated Oz. They watched as the girl ran off and the angry boy got back into his car, kicking out the rest of the broken windshield and driving off in pursuit of the girl it seemed. The other boy was still laying on the ground, shaking. "I'm going to see if he's all right."

Oz got up and went out of the diner toward the boy on the ground. The boy looked at Oz in confusing. "You o.k.?" Oz asked, holding out his hand to help the boy up.

"Did you see that?" the amazed boy asked. "Or am I just going nuts?"

"You mean superman and wonder woman? Yeah, I saw," Oz said casually as he helped pull the boy to his feet. "I'm Oz by the way."

"Scott," the boy gave his name, still looking in shock. He shook his head, "I can't believe anyone could be that strong. Have you ever seen a girl throw someone like that?"

"Well… actually I have," Oz said, thinking of Buffy and Faith. Scott gave him a funny look but he was still in too much in shock from his own experience to question him.

"How well do you know that girl?" Oz asked.

"Not well enough apparently. It was our first date," Scott replied, letting out a deep breath. "I don't know what to think. I'm pretty weirded out at the moment."

Just then the two men Oz saw earlier at the arrest of Professor Van Halen pulled up about ten feet away from where they stood. Scott gave them a frightened rabbit look as they both got out of the truck and walked toward them. Oz glanced to the back of their truck and noticed that the white wolf was no longer in the cage. Oz stood cool as always and watched the men circle around them, sniffing the air.

The black haired one looked at Scott and said, "Beat it, zoo bait." Scott needed no other request. This guy looked dangerous and Scott had had enough danger for one night. He turned and left Oz standing there. Oz could see Willow's anxious face looking through the glass.

"What pack are you from?" the blonde one asked.

"I beg your pardon," Oz replied, calmly. He did stand out a bit in this town with his dyed spiky hair. He noticed that the people here looked very clean cut in general. These two seemed more mobster like, however.

The dark haired man now stood directly behind Oz, sniffing him while the blonde one waited for answers. Oz looked over his shoulder at the sniffing one and gave him a what-the-heck-are-you-doing look.

The blonde laughed slightly. "Don't insult my intelligence. You're not from around here. So where are you from and what were you doing with the professor?"

Now Oz was surprised. "With the professor? I'm only with my girlfriend and we took a wrong turn a little earlier, that's all."

The man gave him a skeptical look. "Did you hear that, Buddy, the guy took a wrong turn." The dark haired man behind Oz laughed.

"Look, I don't want any trouble. I'm just on a trip with my girl," Oz tried to explain.

"To Wolf Lake? I think you're a spy for your pack, looking to off our new Alpha," the blonde man accused.

"No, I repeat, I'm on a trip with my girl," Oz coolly replied. Oz rarely showed much emotion. Now he felt a cold metal object sticking into the side of his ribs. He looked down and noticed it was a small handgun held by Buddy.

The other man now said, "This is the last time I'm going to ask, because I have a wolf I need to recapture tonight, so… what pack are you from?"

"I'm from Sunnydale," Oz told him, simply. The two men looked at each other in confusion. They obviously had never heard of Sunnydale. "It's a city in California."

"California? Sunnydale? What kind of bull is this? There are no packs in California," the blonde said while his friend stuck the gun harder into Oz.

"I'm not in a pack. I was adopted."

The blonde man looked at Oz with disgust, "By ungulates? You were raised by ungulates?"

"Well, I'm not sure what you mean by that, but if you mean they were human, then yes I was." Oz felt a bit excited that he was finally talking to someone who was like him. But he was disappointed that his kind seemed like such punks.

"Your ungulate mommy and daddy know what you are?"

"No," Oz honestly replied. Since he really didn't start turning into his creature until tenth grade, he had been able to hide it from them, with the help of Willow and her friends.

The man glanced at Willow watching them through the window. "Your bitch is human then?"

"She's not a bitch, but she is human," Oz took offense. He was really starting to hate these guys.

The man smiled at Buddy and then looked back at Oz. "Well that still doesn't explain your reason for being here and it seems to me that you were probably aiding Van Halen in some way, so I'm afraid you'll have to come with us." Buddy had quickly stuck a tranquilizer needle in Oz's neck and he carried Oz's limp body into the cage in the back of the truck. They locked the door and threw a tarp over it.

Willow had jumped up from her seat when she saw them carrying Oz and ran out the door, only to be stopped by the glowing of mean eyes. These are definitely werewolves, she thought! "Oh God… what do I do… what do I do…," she chanted nervously, twisting her fingers together. She was wishing that Buffy was here. Buffy would know what to do. But Buffy was in California. "The police," she said aloud in revelation. She ran up to the counter of the pizza parlor and yelled, "Can someone call the police, these two… guys… have just taken my boyfriend!"

The boy behind the counter glanced out the window at the truck pulling away and said, "Sure." He picked up the phone and dialed the police, handing it to Willow.

A man's voice answered, "Sheriff Donner here."

Willow felt frantic. "Please help me, this is Willow Rosenburg and I'm at your pizza place… here in your town… and these scary guys have just taken my boyfriend."

"Calm down, Ms. Rosenburg, and tell me what these guys looked like and what were they driving?" the Sheriff asked.

"They had a truck, with a cage in the back. They put him in the cage. The tall man had black hair and the short one had blonde," Willow quickly explained. She heard the Sheriff sigh. "Do you know them?" Willow asked hopefully.

"I might. I'm going to drive out and see if I can find them. Do you know the way to the police station, Ms. Rosenburg?"

"No, but I'll ask someone."

"O.K. then, you make your way over here and I'll see if I can find your boyfriend."

"Please hurry, Sheriff!"

"Will do, see you later, Ms. Rosenburg." The Sheriff hung up and Willow was filled with only a bit of hope. She was glad this was a small town and the Sheriff most likely knew everyone in it. She asked the counter boy for directions and took off toward the station. Oz had the keys to their rental car in his pocket, so she had to walk.

Holding a fork she stole from the pizza place, she walk cautiously down the streets. She hoped there were no more mean werewolves roaming around. Looking up at the sky she noticed that there was a full moon threatening the fading daylight. She stopped dead in her tracks.

How can this be? The moon was crescent only yesterday. Oh God, oh God, this is turning into a nightmare! Oz would become his creature when the light completely faded. Good thing it was summer and he had a bit more daylight than usual. That Sheriff better find him fast, she thought as she hurried again toward her destination.

**Please send me a review and let me know how I'm doing. Thank you. **


	3. No Where to Run

**No Where To Run**

Matt Donner, Sheriff of Wolf Lake, sat down in his police car with his daughter, Sophia. It had been a heck of a day and confusion reigned supreme. It seemed that every one was going crazy tonight including himself. He glanced over at his daughter who had run into the police station fifteen minutes ago, crying and asking for help. He was still in shock over what she presented him with and he did not know how to handle it at the moment. It was much easier to delve into the town's problems. But when it came to personal stuff, like with Sophia, he found himself at a loss.

Now she sat next to him as he drove to find a girl's missing boyfriend. He had a good idea where to look, as he knew who it was that did it. Tyler Creed and Buddy Hooks were soldiers of the clan, but whether they were acting on orders from the Alpha or on their own, Matt did not know. Matt always tried to promote non-violent methods of dealing with threats to the pack and felt it was his duty to try and prevent the others from choosing violence if there was a better way to handle it.

Matt pulled up in front of his own home to drop his daughter off. She was angry at him, he knew it. He was not giving her what she needed at the moment, but the truth was he wasn't sure how to handle this situation yet. He grabbed her wrist before she left the car.

"Sophia, we'll talk about this when I get back, I promise."

She looked at him angrily with tears in her eyes, "Your always running off to work! You never have time for me! Can't you see that I need you right now? What am I suppose to do Dad? What if I flip while your gone?"

"I promise you, I'm going to hurry back as soon as I can. If I don't get to Tyler soon, who knows what he'll do to this guy. My cell phone will be on if anything happens with you," he tried to reassure her.

She tugged her hand free and Matt could feel the strength of her otherness. Dear God, this was really happening to her! He watched her run up the walkway to the house and slam the door closed.

Matt drove off towards Tyler's property. It was much easier dealing with killers and criminals than with the anguish of his daughter's pain and the overwhelming feeling of guilt that it was his genes that were the cause of it.

He refocused on the goal of saving this outsider before it was too late.

----------------------------------------------------

Sherman Blackstone, the high school Biology teacher and pack keeper, was enjoying a quiet evening at home with his favorite book when he heard Tyler Creed's truck approaching. He got up from his recliner and looked out the window with a frown on his face. Tyler was not exactly on his list of welcome visitors.

He went out the front door to meet Tyler outside, thinking that Tyler would leave quicker if he did not have to invite him in.

Tyler and Buddy got out of the truck and walked to the rear, waiting for Sherman to approach.

"Well, what are you two fine gentlemen doing out on a night like this," Sherman joked. Sherman had always got a kick out of making himself laugh.

Tyler and Buddy were not amused. They pulled the tarp off the cage and revealed a sleeping teenager.

"Nice pet. What you planning on naming him?" Sherman said.

"Well, we were hoping you could give us a name, seeing that you seem to know everyone in every pack around," Tyler drawled. "Ever seen this one before."

"Nope. Can't say that I have. But I think I can find out for you," Sherman replied happily.

"How long will that take?" Tyler asked impatiently.

"Oh, about five seconds," Sherman said as he stuck his hand through the bars and pull the boy's wallet from his back pocket. He held it up with a big grin on his face.

Tyler swiped it out of his hand and opened it, revealing Oz's California Driver's license. The kid wasn't lying after all. He was from this Sunnydale, California place.

"Do you know if Van Halen had helpers with him? Like this kid here? Or perhaps a red haired ungulate girl?" Tyler questioned.

"Don't know," shrugged Sherman. Sherman gazed at Oz again. "If he was helping Van Halen, then the crazy old loon should have filmed this," he said pointing at Oz.

All three of them watched as Oz's body transformed into his creature. None of them had ever seen a flip like this. Hair grew all over Oz's body, as it did with the skin walkers, but he never completely changed into a wolf. His face was one of distorted viciousness, of fangs and crazed eyes. His body stooped and curled, with arms that grew to the length of his legs. His clothing tore at the seams but Oz was still under the effects of the tranquilizer and did not awaken.

"Now that's not normal," Buddy commented to Tyler, distaste on his face. "Maybe the drug is preventing him from flipping all the way."

They both looked at Sherman to provide some sort of answer. "Well, Mr. Biology teacher, what the heck is it?" Tyler finally asked.

"Well, right now, I'd say that it's awake," Sherman said as he backed away. Tyler and Buddy looked now at a very awake and angry werewolf, starting to snarl and shake the door of the cage.

"Buddy, grab the tranq gun!" Tyler yelled. Buddy ran to the passenger side of the truck, noticing Sherman running back into his house. Tyler sprinted towards the drivers seat as Oz easily broke the lock of the cage and leapt out. The two men only had enough time to get into the truck and close the doors as Oz came at them with a vengeance. He sprang onto the hood of the truck and let out a blood curdling howl, banging his fists on the front windshield and cracking the glass. "Shoot it!" yelled Tyler.

Buddy had only one good hand, as his other hand was deformed and useless, and he was reluctant to stick it out of the window and risk having it bitten off. Oz, however, was distracted by the running of Sherman Blackstone into his house and jumped off the truck in pursuit. The beast had total control of Oz and followed whatever instinct it felt. Sherman had not had to run this fast in a very long time and felt his old muscles straining to make it up the porch stairs.

Oz was gaining on him quickly and Sherman grabbed a chair he had on his porch and flung it at the beast to shield himself. It was just enough to give him the extra second he needed to get in the house and slam the door. The creature flung itself against the door and howled angrily at it's failure. It backed away from the door and made for the nearby window. Sherman had grabbed another chair inside the house and held it towards the window with the legs out.

Just as the beast leapt through the window, shattering glass in all directions, it fell to the floor. The pursuit of Sherman had given Buddy enough space to get out of the truck and aim. Sherman didn't realize he had been holding his breath until then and now he let it all out in relief.

Buddy and Tyler came walking into the house and now stood over the werewolf's body. "We're going to need a stronger cage," Buddy said.

"Go back to my place and get the restraints," Tyler ordered.

"Your not leaving him here!" Sherman exclaimed.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Fine! Let's dump him back in the truck for now. Buddy, you sit back there with him and shoot him again if he even blinks. Thanks for your help, keeper."

"Sure, anytime," smiled Sherman.

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Willow had finally made it to the Wolf Lake Police station and opened the glass door, causing the little bell to tinkle. A police woman was sitting at her desk and rose up to meet Willow at the front counter.

"Hi, I'm Willow Rosenburg, I called a while ago about my…"

"The missing boyfriend," said the woman, smiling at Willow.

"Yep, that's me. Have you heard anything yet?" Willow asked anxiously.

"Not yet, the Sheriff is still en route. Why don't you have a seat while we wait for news," Deputy Molly offered.

"Oh, all right," Willow nervously smiled. Her eyes darted nervously out of the window. Then she jumped up out the seat, surprising the Deputy. "You know, I think I'm going to make a phone call home. I'll be right outside here."

"Do you want to use our phone?" Molly asked.

"No, no, it's long distance. Got my cell," she said, holding her little phone up.

"Well, if you can't get through on that then come on in and use ours," the Deputy offered.

Willow stepped outside and dialed Buffy's cell phone number. She really didn't want Deputy Molly to hear this particular conversation so she walked around the corner as Buffy's phone rang.

"Come on, answer it," Willow pleaded to no one. She felt her heart sink in disappointment when the voice mail service went on. She waited through the message, anxious to begin speaking. Finally the beep came.

"Buffy? This is Willow. We are here in that place I told you about, Wolf Lake, and it's been a total disaster waiting to happen. Some werewolf's kidnapped Oz, and the moon is full here and I don't know how that can be and I'm at the police station and…" Willow couldn't seem to stop the flow of her words. Buffy was her best friend and if there was anyone who could understand her, it was Buffy. She poured out her fears in that message and asked her to call her back immediately when she got the message.

When Willow hung up the phone she walked back into the police station, feeling a bit of relief at having been able to tell someone her feelings, even if it was a machine. She jumped in surprise when Deputy Molly was standing just inside the door with a pair of handcuffs. She grabbed Willows wrist and said, "Your going to have to come with me." Gone was the easy hospitality of a few minutes ago. Deputy Molly now had her police face on. She snapped the cuff on Willow's wrist.

"What? What did I do?" Willow cried out in surprise. But Molly would not say more. She took Willow's bag away and pushed her in front of her towards the holding cell. Once Willow was in, she undid the cuffs and locked her in. "I don't understand? Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything."

Deputy Molly went back to her desk and ran a hand through her hair. She had heard Willow's phone message with her keen hearing and now knew she had to contact the Alpha. Vivian had to know that there was another threat to the pack. After she called Vivian, she would have to call Matt as well.

What a night this had been. First Van Halen and now this. This was way too much activity for a small town like this. But then again, this was no normal small town. Molly sighed and dialed Vivian's number, ignoring the pleas of the red haired girl.

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**Hi everyone, please review and let me know how you feel about this fiction so far. Thanks. **


	4. Desperate Measures

**Hi everyone, sorry it took awhile to update this. Some of you may know that I'm also working on a story in the Lord of the Rings section, which I started even before Sophia's Choice. I neglected that one in order to finish Sophia's Choice, so I felt I had to focus on that for awhile. I'm trying to finish it before starting on the sequel to Sophia's Choice so I can be only focused on Wolf Lake. I'm really excited about the sequel and many ideas are coming at me regarding it. Birthrite will be a shorter fiction than Sophia's Choice and the sequel, but I hope your enjoying it all the same. **

**Let me know. Thanks.**

**Desperate Measures**

Vivian Cates had finally reached home after that Arthur Van Halen incident and was hoping to get some rest when she received a phone call from Tyler Creed about some strange breed of skin walker that he had locked up on his property. Now she found her self back in her black Mercedes-Benz driving to deal with more problems.

When she pulled up to the property she noticed that Sheriff Matt Donner had just arrived as well and was getting out of his truck. He walked up to her car, opening the door for her. "Well, Madam Chairwoman, would you happen to know why Tyler has kidnapped a boy? Unless you came for some other reason," Matt asked.

"A boy? Really Matt, that's not the report I received. Come on, let's take a look," Vivian said as she stepped out of the car and began walking around the side of the house to the garage. Tyler met them by the garage. "Tyler? What's going on here?" Vivian asked.

Tyler looked from one face to the other and said, "I think you should see this for yourself." He led them back to a strong metal cage he had in his garage. One he occasionally used to lock up his wayward wife.

They looked in at Oz, in his werewolf form, still tranquilized on the floor of the cage. Buddy had sat in a chair nearby, dosing him whenever he stirred. Vivian and Matt had never seen a skin walker like this before. He smelt wolven, as they did, but his appearance was different. It was as if he was stuck in a grotesque form of an unfinished transformation.

"Explain what you know so far," Vivian ordered.

"Well he was a somewhat normal looking guy, in an urban kind of way. Came here with an ungulate girlfriend. Said they were on a trip or something, but Buddy and I saw them drive up when Van Halen was getting taken away. We figured they were helpers of his in some way so we found them downtown and took him for questioning. Said he was from someplace called Sunnydale, California and that he had no pack. He was adopted and raised by ungulates. When we stopped by Sherman's to see if he knew anything, creature boy here went native, busted out and almost ate our keeper. Been keeping him down every since. So, boss, what do we do with him?"

Vivian sighed and Matt ran his hand through his hair. She looked over at Matt, "What is it Matt?"

"The girlfriend called me and told me he was taken. I don't know Viv. There is something weird about this whole thing. I wasn't aware that Van Halen had helpers. Maybe this kid was an experiment of his that had gone bad," Matt tried to guess.

Just then Vivian's cell phone rang and she answered it. She listened as Deputy Molly told her about arresting Willow Rosenburg and about the phone call that the girl had made to Sunnydale.

"Alright," Vivian said to Molly, "just keep her there for now. We'll probably pick her up in a while." Vivian hung up the phone and sighed. This evening was going from bad to worse.

Matt, Tyler and Buddy all looked at her in question.

Vivian stated, "It looks like the girlfriend made a phone call to some friends back home telling of this town of "werewolves". She also told her friends that her boyfriend was kidnapped by them. She talked about her fears of the full moon."

"Well I think they both need to disappear if you know what I mean," Tyler said.

Matt gave Tyler a hard look. "No, I won't allow that."

"Matt, we have to protect the pack at all costs, you know that. This is already getting way out of hand," Vivian explained.

"I think we try other options first. If this is a full moon occurrence, then he'll most likely transform back in the morning. I think we should question them and find out more. We should at least find out if there are more of these things and why they are here. I'll go over and fetch the girl. Obviously she knows all about him and maybe she'll be easier to talk to," Matt said.

Vivian thought it over for a minute and then replied, "Alright Matt, but if we can't find another solution before nightfall tomorrow, then…"

"I know Vivian. Thanks for giving it some time. They are just kids you know. About the same age as our own."

"Speaking of which, I've heard some pretty interesting things regarding events tonight involving my son and your daughter," Vivian said pointedly.

"Sophia was out on a date tonight, and it wasn't with your son," Matt answered defensively.

"I know. But he was there nonetheless. I think we need to talk about Sophia. But that can wait until this little crisis is taken care of."

"I can handle my own daughter Vivian," Matt stated.

"Can you?" she asked. Vivian turned and left the garage, while Matt stared at Oz and thought of his daughter. Then he looked up and saw Tyler smirking at him.

It looked as though Tyler was about to make some smart ass remark, but Matt said, "Watch it!" Tyler smiled and shook his head. Then he too left the garage and when into his home.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Willow sat in the cell, trying to think of what she could say to get Deputy Molly to listen to her. So far, all her attempts to speak with her were met with silence. Then the front door of the police station opened and a tall, dark haired man came in. Molly looked startled at seeing him.

"I thought you weren't due in until morning Kanin," Molly said to him.

"I'm not," he said as he made his way to his desk. "But I'm having a hard time sleeping after what that freak tried to do to me and then I remembered some things I left here. Might as well do something useful if I can't sleep." John Kanin then noticed the red haired girl sitting in the holding cell. "Who's this?"

Before Molly could answer him, Willow jumped to her feet, "Please sir, that officer won't tell me why I'm under arrest! Please help me. I came in here because my boyfriend has been taken, and then she put me in here!"

John turned his face towards Molly. "What's going on Molly?"

"She and her boyfriend were partners with Van Halen," Molly lied. She knew John was very anger with Van Halen for filling him with wolf's blood and that this may lessen his sympathy for the girl.

"We were not! We have nothing to do with him! I swear it. We were on vacation, that's all!" Willow tried to defend herself.

John looked at her in suspicion. He was still very upset about the incident tonight. "Why would you choose Wolf Lake for a vacation?" he asked.

Willow did not know what to say. She did not want to tell him about Oz. They might think she was crazy. On the other hand, they might be werewolves too. She decided to see if she could confirm it or not.

"Well, we came here… for… for… his condition, you know," she opened her eyes wide at the word "condition" to see if it struck a bell with John. John made no reaction and just stared at her.

"No, I don't know. Maybe you should tell me," he said.

Just then Molly walked between John and the cell, giving Willow a warning look before she turned to John. "The boy is apparently suffering from a lung disorder and needed the fresh mountain air to ease his suffering. At least that's what we heard before. But I think it's all a lie," Molly said. Willow opened her eyes wide and made to protest again, but Molly shot her a warning glance, her eyes glowing, before turning back to John.

"Where is he?" asked John.

"Matt is taking care of it," Molly answered. "We have it all under control Kanin. Why don't you try to rest before your next shift?"

John took one more look at Willow, who seemed quiet now in a very frightened way. He shook his head and wondered how many other internet fans of Van Halen's would be finding their way up here. This town could turn into a regular circus! He grabbed his file and walked out the door with a "Night Molly."

When he left, Molly looked over at Willow. "I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you."

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Lucas Cates was pacing back and forth in the yard of the Donner residence. He kept glancing up at Sophia's window. He could sense she was in there and she wasn't yet asleep. He couldn't sleep as well and knew he wouldn't until he had the chance to speak with her. He crawled up the trellis on the side of the house and pulled himself up into the open window of her room, hearing the water running in the shower of her little bathroom.

Sophia was crying in the shower and despising herself for her actions tonight. Scott had looked at her like she was a freak! What was going to happen at school on Monday? Would he tell everyone? "Well, he would be right. I am a freak!" she cried. Then she heard the door to the bathroom open. Her dad normally did not enter her bathroom when she was in the shower. She peeked her head on the side of the curtain and saw Lucas Cates!

Sophia let out a loud scream. "Get out! Get out! I can't believe you would just walk right in here! Get out or my dad will kill you!"

"Sophia I just need to talk to you! I'm sorry!" Lucas said trying to calm her down.

"This is so not right!" yelled Sophia. "Get out now!"

Lucas backed out of the bathroom and went to sit on her bed and wait for her. He heard the water shut off and after a few minutes a very angry Sophia came out in her bathrobe.

"No Lucas, I meant get out of my house! I don't ever want to see you again! I can't believe you interfered in my date like that and hurt Scott!" she yelled.

Lucas stood to full height. He didn't come over to get angry with her, but her tone of voice was setting him off. He walked over to her and pushed her against the wall, pinning her in. "You think you can be with a human? Your not human Sophia, and tonight proves it without a doubt. You think I should have let you mess around with him? And what happens when you're all hot and heavy with the guy and you start to flip? Huh? You think he'll be very understanding about that?"

Sophia shoved him roughly away and he landed back onto her bed. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she screamed.

He got up again and grabbed her arm, tossing her to the bed. "If you want to have sex so badly, then it's going to be with me." He flung himself on top of her, trying to open her bathrobe with one hand and kiss her neck at the same time.

Sophia was hitting him on his back. "Get off! Stop Lucas!" She dug her nails into his arms and scratched him hard, making him bleed. He pushed his head up a little in anger.

"Go ahead and hurt me Sophia. It will add to the excitement," he told her with a wicked look as he pulled the belt of her robe off and continued his explorations.

Sophia's body gave up struggling and she now wept in sorrow and resignation, looking towards the wall and not responding to him any longer.

This made Lucas stop and he looked at her emotionless face. The tears flowing from her blank eyes made him feel terrible all of a sudden. He sighed and rolled off her, covering his eyes with his hand. He looked over at her and closed her robe back up for her. Next he stood and went towards the window. "I'm sorry," he said as he climbed out.

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Willow was very frightened indeed after witnessing Molly's glowing eyes. She knew she was in danger and had to get out of here somehow. She began thinking of what she could do. She had been practicing witchcraft for about a year now and had managed some success with levitating pencils and small objects. She even levitated a pencil and stuck a vampire with it just before he could sink his teeth into her. She remembered how proud of herself she felt for that.

But pencils would not help her now, she thought. She looked around the station, thinking of what she might do. Molly was at her desk, backed turned. Willow had seen her put the keys to the cell in the drawer of her desk. Maybe, just maybe, thought Willow, if I could only get her out of here for a few minutes.

Willow noticed an open bottle of water on Molly's desk and concentrated hard on tipping it over. She wanted to yelp for joy when the bottle fell, spreading quickly over Molly's papers and off onto her lap. Molly jumped up and said, "Shit!" She shook her papers off and went back towards the break room to find a towel. Willow knew she had to work fast. As soon as Molly had risen and turned to go to the back, Willow started concentrating on the desk drawer. It opened. Then she focused on the ring of keys. This was a little more difficult, as the keys were a bit heavier than pencils, but she managed to float them out of the drawer and bring them towards herself. She reached out and grabbed them just as Molly was returning, dabbing her pants with the towel.

Willow opened her eyes wide when she noticed that the drawer was still open! "Excuse me… can I get some water, please." Willow quickly asked.

Molly looked at her in a disgruntled way, having had enough to do with water tonight. But she turned around and went to the water cooler, filling a Dixie cup for Willow and giving Willow just the extra time she needed to close the drawer.

Willow smiled at Molly as she handed her the cup through the bars. "Thanks!"

Molly gave Willow a strange look. Why was the girl being so cheerful all of the sudden? She wished Matt would get back soon and take her off her hands.

**Please review me, thanks!!**


	5. Escape!

**Escape!**

Matt Donner came into the police station and glanced around for the red haired girl. Deputy Molly sat at her desk, her head cradled on her hand while she read a novel. She quickly shoved the book under desk when the Sheriff walked in.

"Where is she Molly?" Matt asked.

"Right there," Molly said turning around in her chair to look at the holding cell. It was empty and the door stood ajar! Molly stood up and looked around. "What the hell…" She spun back to her desk and opened the drawer. The keys were gone. "That's not possible! Who would give her the keys?" Molly ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

Matt sighed a heavy sigh. "This is just great, Molly! Did you leave the keys in the lock?"

"I didn't think so!" whined Molly. "She must have slipped out the back way! I can't believe I didn't hear her."

"Must have been a good book you were reading there!" Matt said grumpily. This night was getting longer by the minute.

Molly turned red with embarrassment and grabbed her police jacket from the chair. "I'll go find her," she said.

Matt stopped her. "Wait, I'll look for the girl. I need you to do me a favor. Could you go to my house and check on Sophia for me. She won't answer the phone and I think she's too mad at me. Maybe another female will be able to talk to her." Matt pleaded with his expression and Molly found she couldn't refuse.

"Alright Matt, I'll swing by your house first and then I'll help you look for the girl."

Matt looked relieved, "Thanks Molly, I really appreciate it."

-

Willow had slipped quietly out of the police station and was now running down the sidewalk as fast as she could. She had to find a pay phone somewhere and call Buffy again. She had to let them know how badly things had escalated before she was locked up again or worse. She didn't seem to have any legal rights in this town so she supposed that she would have to break the law if she had to. She already had broken out of jail! Willow's conscious ached just a little that she was now an escaped criminal. Every car that drove by became suspicious to her eyes and she ducked into shadow until they passed.

One look back down the road and she could see the police station that she had just escaped from. A police cruiser had just pulled away, but it went in the opposite direction. Well that was lucky. She kept running, determined to find a public phone somewhere. There looked to be something across the street and down the road a bit. She ran across the road and didn't see the red GTO with the busted windshield until it skidded to a halt in front of her, scaring her and making her dive forward onto the street.

The driver of the car got out and came up to her, kneeling down next to her. "Hey, you o.k.?" he asked.

Willow got shakily to her feet and looked at him. It was the angry boy with red car! The very, unnaturally strong angry boy! She opened her eyes wide but then decided she needed to play it cool.

"Um… yeah… I think so," she said, looking around for more police cruisers.

"Did I hit you?"

"No… I just freaked. I'm fine," she said nervously.

Luke thought she was a bit strange, the way she looked around for something and shifted her feet. He supposed he just scared her real bad with that almost hit.

Lucas shrugged and said, "Alright then." He turned to go back to his car but before he got in he took one more look at her. She seemed like she was running from someone. "You need a ride anywhere?"

"Um… well… would you know of a place I can make a phone call?" she asked.

Lucas thought for a moment. "The diner has a public phone. I can give you a lift there," he offered. Willow nodded her acceptance, glad to be off the streets. She got into the passengers side. When the car started to move, the wind hit her face as he had kicked out the windshield earlier.

"I like your air conditioning," she joked, squinting her eyes from the wind.

"Yeah, had a bit of an incident tonight," he said. Willow didn't ask as she already knew what happened. But she didn't want him to know that she was a witness to his little 'incident'. Who knows if she may upset him or something? She didn't want to take a chance.

"You're from out of town," he said.

"Yep, just visiting a friend," she said.

"Yeah? Who is it? Maybe I know them." Lucas asked.

"Oh, I don't think you do," Willow said. "She's really the quiet type, you know. Her name is Kathy Jones," Willow lied.

Lucas thought about that name but it didn't ring any bells with him. Just some ungulate probably, he thought. He didn't bother getting to know many ungulates.

Finally they pulled into the diner and Willow got out. "Thanks for the ride," she said.

"No problem," Lucas said as he tore off in his usual reckless way.

"Drive safely," she mumbled as she watched his car disappear. She turned and walked into the diner looking around at the few patrons. There were some kids playing pool in the back and only a few people eating a late supper. Willow looked at their food with longing. She wished she had some money! Deputy Molly had taken her backpack away with her money and her phone in it. She spotted a pay phone in the hallway between the diner and the hotel lobby.

Calling collect, she waited on the line as the operator rang Buffy's line. To her great relief, Buffy answered the phone and accepted the charges. "Buffy?" she squealed, happy to finally reach her friend.

"Willow! Oh my God! I've been trying to call your phone for hours! I've been totally wigged out since you left that message. "

"Buffy, they threw me in jail for no reason. They think I was connected to the Van Halen guy! I didn't get my rights read or nothing," Willow frantically explained.

"Well at least they let you out. What about Oz?"

"They didn't let me out. I… well… I escaped," she said in a low voice, not knowing who might hear her. "Buffy I'm on the run and I have no idea where Oz is, I have no money and no where to go. I know it's asking a lot to come down here, but I really, really need you right now."

"We're all ready on it. Xander and I are catching a red eye to Seattle in about two hours. By the time we drive up there it should be about morning."

Willow shut her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "You guys are the greatest friends, you know that?"

"Right back at you Will. You're going to have to find a place to hang low until we get there. Do you have any plans?"

"I'm at the diner right now, the one that's connected to the hotel. I'll try to find a broom closet or something to spend the night and I'll meet you here in the morning. Oh, and Buffy, if I'm not here, if I'm arrested again or something, check if I'm at the police station but don't trust the woman Deputy. She's one of them."

"Gotcha. Just hang tight; we'll see you in the morning."

"O.K., bye," Willow said, hating to hang up the phone and be amongst strangers again.

-

Miranda Devereaux sat in a booth of the diner, smoking cigarettes and having her nightly cup of coffee. The diner was dead tonight and there was no action anywhere. She looked out the window, dreaming that her knight in shining armor might just drive up and take her away from this hell hole town. She spotted the Sheriff's police cruiser pulling into the parking lot, hoping that Matt Donner wasn't coming about that mascara she shop lifted from the drug store today. She didn't want to spend another night in that cold cell.

As the car pulled up, another movement caught Miranda's eye. A red haired girl who had been on the payphone a moment ago, had turned and ran into the women's rest room. Miranda lifted her eyebrows. So there was another criminal here tonight, thought Miranda.

Matt Donner walked in to the diner, glancing around at everyone. He also sniffed the air, catching the scent of the girl. He knew it was her because she also left her scent at the station.

"Hello Sheriff," said Miranda, "looking for someone?"

Matt looked down at her, "Did you happen to see a girl from out of town come in, with red hair?

"Yep," said Miranda, "but she left awhile ago. Saw her walking down the road out of town, probably gonna hitch a ride. She looked real scared. What did she do?"

"Can't tell you that," said Matt, "but thanks for the tip." Matt started to leave, but he turned and said, "By the way, your mascara looks real nice today." Miranda gave him a small smile and shook her head as he left. She waited until he was driving down the road out of town before she got up and made her way to the restroom.

She opened the restroom door and noticed one stall was closed and no feet to be found. Poor thing was standing on the toilet, Miranda guessed.

"You can come out now little red riding hood. The big bad wolf has left," Miranda said as she leaned against the sink and lit another cigarette.

There was no sound for awhile, but then the door slowly opened and Willow peeked out of the stall looking at Miranda in fright.

"It's all right Red, I know what it's like to be on the lamb. Been there, done that. So what did you do?" Miranda asked casually.

"I didn't do anything," Willow said carefully. What if she was one of them? She started scooting closer to the exit.

"Just found out too much, did you?" Miranda said, hitting it on the mark.

Willow stopped and stared at her. She bravely said, "Are you…?"

Miranda let out a laugh. "No. I'm not one of them. Though I dare say my life would he a hell of a lot easier if I were. But hey, I'm a vegetarian, so I'm afraid it just wouldn't work out." Miranda grounded out her cigarette in the sink and then said, "Listen Red, I'm feeling a bit sorry for you cause I know you're from out of town and that's even worse luck than being a townie when it comes to the law around here. So if you want a place to crash tonight you can stay at my place. I share a house with a roommate, Cindy, but she's hardly around cause she's got a new boyfriend. I know a short cut to my house that won't make us so visible to the road."

Willow wasn't sure she trusted this woman yet, but staying here was definitely more risky than staying in a private home. She could come back in the morning and wait for Buffy.

"Thanks," said Willow, "I'd really appreciate it. Just for tonight then cause my friends will be here in the morning. My name is Willow, by the way, not Red."

Miranda glanced at Willow, "I think I'll call you Red. Easier to remember." She sauntered out of the bathroom with a timid Willow behind her. Willow cautiously peeked out the window to see if the police car was really gone.

"I told you Red. Coast is clear. But for how long depends on how fast you move your ass. So come on."

-

Molly knocked on the door of the Donner residence again. Sophia was taking her sweet time coming downstairs. "Sophia? It's me Molly. Can you open up?"

Sophia finally opened the door, her eyes red from crying. "Something happen to my Dad?" she asked, wondering why Molly would come banging on the door.

"No, nothing like that. I just wanted to check and see if you were alright. I heard about what happened tonight," she said in a soft voice.

"Oh great! Now my Dad is blabbing all over town about it! Will it be on the front page tomorrow?" Sophia snapped. "He sent you down here didn't he?"

"No!" Molly lied. "I just thought you might like another woman to talk to, you know. Some things are hard to talk to men about."

Sophia softened her manner a bit. "Thanks but I think I just want to be alone right now."

Molly smiled at her, "O.K. sweetie. But if you ever need to talk, call me alright?"

Sophia gave her a small smile back and nodded before she shut the door.

-

**Coming up next: Buffy and Xander arrive at Wolf Lake!**

**Please review this chapter. Hope your enjoying it so far.**


	6. Bad to the Bone

**Bad to the Bone**

Buffy Summers and Xander Harris watched the new dawn as their rental Harley passed the Welcome to Wolf Lake sign. At the airport, Xander couldn't resist his fantasy of riding one of these to the rescue of his friends and Buffy indulged him as she thought it would be kind of cool as well. Of course they had to have the outfits to go along with it too! Buffy had whipped out her mom's borrowed credit card with Xander's promise that he'd pay her back once they got back home. So clad all in black leather from head to toe they had made the long drive all the way from the airport to Wolf Lake.

Xander revved up the engine for the heck of it when they pulled into the diner parking lot causing many heads to turn.

"Let's just find a megaphone and announce our arrival why don't we?" Buffy grumped at him. She swung her leg over and got off the bike, unfastening her helmet.

"I think we should let them know we've arrived. Put a little fear in them," Xander said as he glared around at the passerby's. He stood, puffing out his chest.

Buffy let out a little laugh and rolled her eyes. "A few hours on a Harley and look what's happened to you. Come on, let's see if Willow's here. I'm sure she's at least heard us by now."

Xander followed Buffy up the stairs and into the Hotel/Diner/Cocktail Lounge place called the Rondevue. "That's an appropriate name," said Buffy.

They turned right and stepped into the busy diner. Breakfast was being served and they were very ready for a meal after that long night of travel. After glancing around for Willow and not seeing her they decided to find a booth and wait until she found them.

"If she's not here by the end of breakfast, I say we go check out the police station," Xander said.

Just then the waitress came up to their table, her name tag said Sophia.

"Hi, what can I get for you?" Sophia asked, pen and order pad in hand.

They looked at her face and it was apparent that the waitress had been upset recently. Her eyes were rimmed with red and she looked pale and tired.

"What kind of cereals do you have?" Buffy asked.

"Rice Krispies, Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, Cheerios, and Wheeties," Sophia said listlessly.

"Oatmeal?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, that too," replied Sophia.

"O.K. Well I'll have the oatmeal then with a glass of orange juice and also a glass of milk," Buffy said. Sophia wrote quickly and turned to leave.

"Hey, wait," called Xander. "I'd like to order." Sophia turned around and stalked back to the table.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Xander smiled at her. "It's all right. We all have those kinds of days. Could I get a stack of pancakes with plenty of butter and maple syrup? Three eggs sunny side up and a large coffee."

After Sophia walked away Buffy looked at him. "You're not hungry are you?"

"A tad. Hey, have you noticed that old Indian guy over there staring at us," Xander said in a low voice.

Buffy turned her head and noticed the man sitting at the counter on a stool. He smiled and waved at her when she looked. She cautiously waved back with a half smile on her face. Then the man stood up and walked up to their table.

"Hello kids. I really like your Harley out there. Always wanted one myself," the old man said.

Xander got his cool face on again. "Yeah, well she handles real well."

The old man nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure she does. You two up here for a visit? We don't get many outsiders here since the highway ends right in town and there's no where else to go except back." Xander was about to speak again, but Buffy cut him off.

"Well, what do you know? We had no idea this road ended here. I knew we should have got a map back at that gas station!" Buffy said, playing ignorant.

Xander knew that they did have a map but he figured out that Buffy did not trust this man.

"Uh yeah," said Xander now, "well you know how we guys are honey. We always think we can find things on our own." He smiled at Buffy, playing along. Buffy lifted her eyebrows at him when he called her honey.

"That's right sweet buns. We just better head back after breakfast," she said.

Sherman could see that these two were not telling the truth. He sighed but he said, "Well, have a nice breakfast and good luck on your road trip."

Buffy was relieved when he walked away. She did not think they should let anyone know their business. After all, Willow said to trust no one. Just then Sophia came and set their breakfast down before them, not even bothering to look them in the eye. Poor thing, thought Buffy, I know what it's like to have to keep working when the rest of your life is falling apart.

While they ate, they noticed Sophia walk outside for her break. A teenage boy approached her and began talking to her. Buffy kept glancing at them through the window as it seemed that Sophia was getting more upset. Then their waitress came quickly back inside the diner and headed for the kitchen. The boy was in pursuit.

"Sophia, come back outside. I need to explain something to you," he was saying as he grabbed her wrist to prevent her from walking away. Sophia grabbed his wrist back and pulled it from her hand.

"Don't touch me," she yelled. They had everyone's attention now and Sophia turned to continue her way into the kitchen. Lucas now began to follow her but was suddenly stopped by a leather clad Buffy who had somehow managed to insert herself in front of him.

"I think she wants you to back off," Buffy said. Lucas glared down into the petite blonde's face. What the hell did this ungulate think she was doing?

"Scram," he snapped as he took his arm and tried to sweep her out of the way. He paused in surprise when he couldn't seem to make her budge. She stood there like a brick wall. He sniffed to figure her out. No, she was definitely human. But she was really solid.

She had managed to distract him from his pursuit of Sophia and now he let out a short laugh. "Listen, this is none of your business. So why don't you just go back to your meal."

"Well, I think it is my business. You see, that's my waitress you're messing with and I'm really picky about getting good service, so if you upset her, then you upset me," Buffy explained.

Lucas looked around the diner at everyone staring. This slip of a girl was disrespecting him in front of all these people and he was beginning to feel his anger rising. This time he shoved her hard to the side and Buffy fell but she immediately sprang right back up and lifted a boot heel to his chest, knocking Lucas backward and against the counter.

The diner was definitely silent as everyone watched to see what Lucas would do next. He stood up straight, disbelief and anger on his face. He stepped closer to Buffy with his fists clenched. "You know, I've never hit a girl before, but you're real close to being my first," he grounded out between his clenched teeth.

Xander, who had been happily watching the scene as he was cutting his pancakes, now noticed that people were looking at him as well. He realized that they were wondering why he wasn't sticking up for Buffy as it was clear to them that they had arrived together and were a 'pair'. Xander cleared his throat and stood up, stepping towards Buffy.

"Uh… don't you talk to my girl that way," Xander said as he looked around to see if that's what everyone expected. "If you mess with us, my whole gang will come riding up here to your town and… and… well, you don't want to know what they'd do," Xander said, taking his biker image way too serious.

Lucas looked at them both and then glanced outside at the Harley in the parking lot. "Tell you what," Lucas said, "let's settle this with a race. My GTO against your Harley, winner keeps the other's ride."

"Absolutely n…" Buffy began, but Xander cut her short.

"Deal", Xander said, shaking Luke's hand. Buffy spun around and looked at Xander.

"Xander…" she tried to say.

"There's a good racing road just left of the post office. I'll meet you there in one hour," Lucas said and he walked off towards the pool tables to talk to some friends he spotted.

After Lucas walked away, Xander looked down at a glaring Buffy. "Just what do you think your doing? We don't even own that Harley!"

"Hey, we took out insurance on it, remember. Besides, how are we supposed to rescue Willow and Oz with one Harley?" Xander said.

Buffy was about to continue with her lecture when she spotted Willow waving at her from the doorway. She did not want to come all the way into the diner and had been trying to signal to them for awhile. Buffy grabbed Xander's hand and said, "Let's go." As they passed their table, she put money on it for breakfast while Xander bent to take one more bite of his eggs.

When they reached Willow, she threw her arms around them and hugged them both. Then she sobered and said, "Shhh… we can't talk here. Follow me. I've got a place to hide out for now." Then Willow looked at how they were dressed and as they walked out the door she said, "Is that your bike?"

Buffy said, "For now." And then she gave Xander a disgruntled look.

"You two ride it along slowly and follow me. Try not to attract a lot of attention," Willow said and she turned to walk in the direction of Miranda's house.

Xander revved up the engine again as Buffy climbed on. Buffy sighed in defeat. So much for keeping on the down low, she thought.

-

Oz woke up shivering in a cage in Tyler Creed's garage. Now that the sun had risen, he had transformed back into human form. His clothes lay in a shredded pile next to him. He noticed Buddy sitting on a chair facing his cage. Buddy was asleep, the tranquilizer gun on his lap.

"Hey!" Oz said, trying to wake Buddy. "Hey! Wake up!"

Buddy shook his head and opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he noticed that Oz was back to human form.

"Do you think I can get a blanket or something and a trip to the restroom? Perhaps a chat about why I'm here would be nice as well," Oz said.

Buddy ran his hand over his face, still trying to wake up. He sent out a mental message to Tyler who was just waking up as well in the nearby house.

In a while, Tyler came out carrying Oz's duffel bag with his clothing in it. Oz blinked in surprise when he saw his stuff being handed to him through the bars. "How did you get that? It was in the car?"

Tyler held up the keys to his rental car.

"What about my girlfriend?" Oz asked as he slipped into some jeans and a shirt.

"Last I heard, she was put in jail," Tyler told him with a satisfied look on his face. Oz started to fear for Willow but he did his best on to show it.

"She hasn't done anything…" Oz defended.

"Done?" Tyler said, "No, she hasn't done anything. It's more like what she knows. It's way too dangerous to know too much around here." Tyler casually pulled up a chair and faced Oz. "So you see, we both need something. I need you to tell me all about yourself and what you are doing here and you need me to get your girlfriend released. So you think that perhaps we might be able to help each other out?"

Oz studied Tyler's face. He didn't find anything to trust about him. How could he be sure Willow was in jail? And if she was, would they really let her out if he talked. Somehow he doubted it.

"And if I don't talk?" Oz asked.

"Then you both die," Tyler simply stated.

**Please review this story and tell me what you think so far… Thanks!**


	7. Blood Brothers

**Blood Brothers**

Mathew Donner and Sherman Blackstone walked into Tyler Creed's garage that morning and found Oz back in his human form. Matt had picked up Sherman on his way here hoping that the keeper could provide some insight into the situation. Now they stood looking at Oz in the cage who stoically looked back at them.

Matt took a look at the wallet which was sitting on the workbench nearby. He looked at Oz's I.D. and then looked at Oz.

"Well, Osmund …" Matt began.

"It's just Oz."

"O.K. Oz. Tell us what you are and how you came to be here," Matt asked.

"What I am?" Oz said. "You already know that. I'm just like you."

Matt, Sherman, Tyler and Buddy all looked at each other in surprise and amusement.

"And just what do you think we are?" asked Tyler.

"Werewolves, like me," answered Oz plainly. He looked at their faces and started to feel that perhaps he wasn't right. "Look, I've seen how strong you are and how you smell. You can't tell me that you're human."

"Your transformation can only happen at a full moon?" Sherman asked.

"Yes," Oz said warily. "And the moon was not supposed to be full last night. I don't know what's up with that. How do you guys handle it?"

"The moon is always full over Wolf Lake," Tyler said. "This land is sacred and it is why we have settled here."

"But that's scientifically impossible," Oz stated. "How can the moon be full only here and not in other places around Washington?"

"Only Kokomut knows that," Sherman said.

"Kokomut?"

"The spirit who created the Earth," answered Sherman.

Matt wanted to get back to the questioning. "Are there more like you in this Sunnydale place and were you born like this or did someone turn you into a werewolf?"

"I'm the only one in Sunnydale. Sunnydale is filled with vampires and other demons because it was built on a Hell Mouth. I was born somewhere around here actually and then adopted and taken to California. I had no idea what I was until I was a teenager."

"You were born around here you say?" Sherman asked, his interest now piqued.

"Well, not sure of the exact location," Oz told him. "All I know is that my mother was pregnant with me went she was killed in a car crash on her way to Seattle. The doctors were able to save only me."

Buddy looked pale. "Who was your mom?" he asked.

Oz shrugged. "No one knew. She was considered a Jane Doe case. Then her body was stolen from the morgue and they couldn't find out anymore."

Sherman looked over at Buddy and then back to Oz. "What's your birthday?"

"August 4th, 1983." Oz answered.

Buddy put a hand through his hair and swore.

Sherman let out a little laugh. "Well, Oz, I'd like you to meet your big brother, Buddy Hooks."

Oz stared at Buddy in shock. This thug was his brother? Buddy looked at him as he paced back and forth.

"How can this be Sherman?" Buddy asked. "There is something wrong with him! He doesn't even transform right! He's not like one of us!"

"Well, there's something wrong with you too," Sherman said as he pointed at Buddy's hand.

"But not like that!" Buddy pointed at Oz.

"Well you know the gene pool is pretty shallow around here," Sherman said. "Could be some sort of birth defect on his wolfen nature. Or the fact that he was taken prematurely from his mother's body could have prevented him from forming correctly."

Now they were all thoroughly confused and everyone stared at one another. Oz didn't know what to think. He had a brother? And now he might even have a birth defect?

"So I assume that you were the ones who took her body from the morgue?" Oz now asked.

"Of course," said Matt. "Guarding the secret of our existence is the only way we can live normal lives. I remember that day we brought her back. We could see that she had lost the baby. We had no idea that it was alive."

"Well, **it **was me and I am alive, at least for now," Oz said and he gave Tyler a dirty look. "Look, I'm really no danger to anyone when it's daytime. Could I please get out of this cage? I really would like to stretch my legs."

Tyler shrugged with Buddy looked at him. Buddy then took the keys and unlocked the door. Oz came out and stood up, turning to face Buddy. Buddy was a lot taller than him.

"So, do we have a Dad?" Oz asked carefully.

"Not anymore," answered Buddy. "I'm all that's left of the family. Well, no, I guess that's not true anymore. We're all that's left of the family."

"Well, well, happy reunions," mocked Tyler. "So what do we do now Sheriff?"

Matt let out a long breath. "We need to inform Vivian of all this and decide from there." He turned towards Oz. "What about Van Halen? Were you connected to him in any way?"

"No," said Oz, "my girlfriend found his internet show and thought that if we came up here I could find my origins or something like that."

"Well, you found it," laughed Sherman.

"Speaking of my girlfriend, do you guys think I might be able to see her? I need to know that she's all right," Oz stated.

Matt looked down and sighed, "She escaped last night and we haven't been able to locate her. A local said she was spotted hitching a ride out of town. There are people out there searching for her."

Oz was happy that she got away but if he knew Willow then he knew she would not go far without trying to rescue him. He also had an idea of whom she would have called for help. He kept this knowledge to himself; however, as he really wasn't sure if he didn't need that help still.

"Come on," said Matt. "Let's get going to the Alpha's house."

-

Xander, Buffy and Willow sat in the living room of Miranda's house as Willow filled them in on all she knew of the situation so far. Miranda had told her last night that the description of the truck sounded a lot like a truck belonging to Tyler Creed. Miranda had not yet met Xander or Buffy as she was still asleep in her room.

Buffy grabbed a phone book. "Well, let's just see if Mr. Creed is listed." She ran her finger down the page. "What do you know! Of course he's not." She slammed the book shut. "Will your friend know where he lives?"

Willow looked at the door to Miranda's bedroom. "Well, maybe, but she's asleep right now."

Buffy strode over to the bedroom door and knocked. Xander was pacing around the living room in his black muscle tee shirt, getting himself all pumped up about his up coming race.

"What?" came an angry yell from inside the room.

"Um… hi… I'm a friend of Willow's and we have something we need to ask you," Buffy said through the door.

Miranda threw open the door. Her curly hair was all tangled and she wore a long T-shirt which fell to about mid-thigh. She glared at Buffy. "What's so urgent?"

"Well, our friend's life is," Buffy answered. But Miranda was no longer looking at her. Her eyes had caught the sight of Xander in his tough biker disguise and she smoothed out her hair quickly with her fingers.

Stepping past Buffy out of the bedroom, she put on a sultry face and said, "Well, who do we have here?" Xander stood still when he saw Miranda looking at him slowly from head to toe. And not only that. She actually looked like she was liking what she saw! Xander puffed out his chest a little more.

"Hey baby, nice place you've got here," he said in his most macho voice. Buffy looked at Willow and they both rolled their eyes.

Miranda glanced over at the leather covered Buffy. "Are you two an item?" she asked.

"Nah," said Xander quickly, "we're just friends. I'm Xan." Xander strode over to Miranda, picked up her hand and gave it a kiss. He held on to it while Miranda crooned back, "I'm Miranda."

"Can I make you some coffee, Xan?" Miranda gave a flirty smile as she made her way to the kitchen, swaying her hips on purpose.

"I'd love some of your coffee Miranda," Xander said in his sexiest voice and followed behind her.

Willow raised her hand and said meekly, "I'd like some too."

"Um… Xan… don't forget you have to be at the race in twenty minutes," Buffy called after him.

"Come on Willow, let's go in the kitchen and see if we can get Miranda to talk about this Tyler Creed," Buffy said as she grabbed Willows hand.

**Coming Up Next: The race and more…**

**Please send me a review and let me know if you're enjoying it. There will probably be about three or four more chapters of this story as I meant it to be like a missing episode of the show and not a long drama.**


	8. Unlikely Allies

**Hi everyone! Thank you to all who are reading this story. If you are looking for more Luke and Sophia action then check out my stories in the rated R section. I've started a series of scenarios for those two. **

**I hope your enjoying this story. It's winding down to it's end. There may be one more chapter of it left. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know.**

**Unlikely Allies**

Lucas Cates and his friends stood at the corner waiting for Xander to show. Luke's friends were all looking at his GTO which was parked next to them and missing a windshield.

"Damn Lucas," said Randy, "what happened to your car? How are you going to get good speed up for the race without a windshield?"

"Don't worry about it," said Lucas.

"Did you hit a deer or something?" asked Sean.

"No, I hit the window," he told them. He didn't want to admit that a girl threw him on his car. Sophia had taken him by surprise when she threw him. He never expected her to be able to do that so he wasn't prepared for it when she did.

"Why'd you do that?" persisted Sean.

"Guess that would be my own business," he said. Sean backed off as he knew better than to irritate the Alpha male.

Just then the sound of a loud motor was heard and they turned their heads and watched as Xander pulled up with Buffy on the back of the bike. They had left Willow behind at Miranda's for now as Willow was afraid the police would show up at the race and recognize her.

Buffy got off and walked up to the boys. "So what are the rules?" she asked.

Lucas pointed down the street. "See that blonde girl standing two blocks away?"

Buffy squinted in the direction he pointed. She could barely make out the girl. The girl raised her arm and waved from the distance.

"Yeah, o.k. I see her," Buffy said.

"It's simple. First one to pass her by wins. She's going to be the judge," Lucas said.

Buffy let out a small laugh. "Well, I think I'll go help her judge if you don't mind. Just to be fair."

"Go right ahead," said Lucas. Buffy turned and walked quickly up the street while Xander and Lucas got into position.

The curly haired blonde frowned at Buffy as she walked up. "What do you want?" she sneered.

"I'm going to help you judge, so that it's a fair race," Buffy told her. The girl just shrugged as Buffy went across the street and stood directly across from her.

Xander and Lucas both had their rides lined up at a chalk line that Randy had drawn across the street. They both signaled that they were ready and waited for Sean to give the signal. While they waited they gave dirty looked to each other and revved up their engines. The signal was given and they were off.

Down the street they accelerated, both sneaking glances at each other. Even with sunglasses on, Lucas was having a hard time without his windshield but he was very familiar with how his car handled and he knew just when to step on the gas.

He didn't anticipate that someone would back out of a driveway on his side of the road however and he suddenly found himself swerving out of the way and almost hitting Xander. Xander accelerated just in time to avoid getting hit and crossed over the finish line just a breath away from Lucas.

Xander put his arm in the air as he whooped his excitement at winning. He slowed down and turned around, riding up to Luke who was pulling over his car. Everyone else came running up to them.

"Damn!" Lucas exclaimed as he got out of the car, slamming the door shut hard.

Everyone else was running up to where they were. "I think we should do it over again," said the blonde girl. "Lucas was interrupted by that car backing out."

"That's not how it works Presley," Lucas said to her. He regretted that he had made this bet at all. Now he would lose his car.

Buffy gave Presley a smug look. Presley felt her anger flare. "What are you smiling at bitch?" Presley spat at Buffy.

Buffy let out a small laugh and shook her head.

Presley became even more enraged. "I think I need to wipe that smile off your face!"

Now Buffy was beginning to hate that girl's attitude. "That wouldn't be a very good thing to do," Buffy said.

Xander shook his head, "No, not a good thing at all."

Presley said, "Why not?"

"Cause you'd lose," said Buffy.

Presley grabbed Buffy by the front of her jacket and lifted her in the air. She tossed Buffy down the street a ways away. Now Buffy could tell that Presley was one of the werewolves as well. She sprang to her feet and gave Presley a roundhouse kick, knocking her over onto the curb. Presley got up and kept coming for her, swiping and punching at Buffy and Buffy kept kicking and punching her in return.

All the guys just stood there watching as the two girls went back and forth with their blows. Xander finally turned to face Lucas while the girls continued.

"So…," he said to Lucas in a casual manner while blows could be heard in the background, "we were talking about this earlier and my girl and I decided that if we won we wouldn't take your car."

Lucas looked over at him in confusion for two reasons. First he was surprised at what he just said and second was the fact that Buffy seemed just as strong as Presley and he knew that Buffy was human. He could smell her human scent.

"Who are you guys and what do you want?" Lucas now asked.

"Well we are looking for a friend of ours and since we don't know anyone in town much we were hoping you might help us find him," Xander said.

The sound of the punching was distracting to Lucas and he couldn't concentrate on what Xander was saying. He turned his head towards the fighting girls.

"Presley! Stop!" he yelled a sharp command.

Presley backed away from Buffy and stood there glaring at her and breathing hard. She was amazed that an ungulate could be so strong.

Buffy walked over to stand with Xander as Sean and Randy came up closer to sniff her and see if she was really human. Buffy gave them dirty looks and they backed away.

"How can she be so strong?" asked Lucas as he looked Buffy over. "Your human aren't you?"

"Yeah, she is, but in a special way," Xander said. Buffy gave Xander a warning look but Xander said to her, "We need more allies Buffy."

Buffy gave a big sigh. She looked at the four teenage werewolves and thought it over. She had nothing against werewolves when they were in human form. She knew from her friendship with Oz that they were just normal people when they weren't all furry. But somehow she got the feeling that these were a bit different from Oz. She decided to give Xander's idea a chance. She nodded at Xander.

"Where we live, there are a lot of creatures of the night, mostly demons and vampires," said Xander. "And Buffy kills them and protects us humans." The four teens looked at Xander as if he were crazy.

"Vampires?" said Sean. "Are you kidding?"

"Is it so hard to believe that there are other beings in this world besides humans?" Buffy asked pointedly. Sean and his friends just looked at each other and knew she had a point.

"I'm called a slayer. I slay," she said after a pause. Lucas shifted the weight on his feet and looked at her closer.

"Listen," he told her, "I don't know what you know about our town, but we are not a danger to anyone. We stick to our town and mind our own business. This is really strange speaking to you about this cause it's something that doesn't usually happen. But it's obvious you know about us."

"Yeah, we do," Buffy said. "And we have nothing against your kind as long as you're not killing humans.

"We have laws against that," Lucas told them. "But you said your friend is missing? All I can guess is that they took him because he knew too much. We can't let the world know that were here. You can only guess what would happen."

"He was taken by someone called Tyler Creed. Do you know where we could find him?" Xander now asked.

Lucas felt a jolt when he heard that name. He hated Tyler Creed with a passion. The guy had screwed Lucas's mother at his father's funeral and Lucas also suspected that it was Tyler Creed who shot his father. He would love to send this slayer after Tyler. It would give him great pleasure.

"Listen, maybe I will help you guys," Lucas said. His friends all looked at him in disbelief.

"Luke, what are you saying?" said Sean. "They know too much too! They are not going to be allowed to leave town."

Buffy looked at him. "You better believe we are going to leave town." She turned back to face Lucas. "Our friend is one of your kind and we care a lot for him. He's like family to us and he's got family back in California too. We are not leaving without him."

"He's a skin walker?" asked Lucas.

"A what?" said Xander.

Lucas gave him an impatient look. "You know, he can transform right?"

"Yeah, he definitely transforms," Xander confirmed.

"O.K. this is becoming more confusing by the minute," Lucas sighed. "I'll see if I can find out anything. Where can I reach you guys?"

Buffy wrote down a number. "This is my cell phone number. We'll be waiting to hear from you." Buffy got on the back of the Harley and Xander started it up.

As they drove away down the street, Sean looked over at Lucas, "Are you really going to help them?"

"If it means getting Tyler's ass kicked, then yes, I'll help. Maybe she'll even 'slay' him," Lucas laughed. "I just hope I can watch."

His friends did not look so keen on this idea. They were supposed to report any threats to the pack immediately. Lucas could see this indecision on their faces.

"None of you better say a word to anyone about this, got that?" Lucas warned them. "I'll keep you out of it and you just keep your mouths shut."

They nodded their agreement. None of them would disobey Lucas.

-

Oz sat in Vivian's office as he heard the Sheriff telling his story to her. He wondered what would become of him as he glanced over to Buddy sitting in a corner. He couldn't believe he had found a brother. Would his brother let them execute him if that was the decision? Would he stick up for him? He noticed that Buddy kept looking at him as well.

When all was told, Vivian looked Oz over and sighed. "Well, this is most unusual and unexpected," she said. She wasn't sure what to do him. "It must be real hard not being able to control your transformation."

"I'm managing, with a little help from my friends," Oz replied.

Vivian lifted her eyebrows at him. "More people than just your girlfriend know about you?"

"Well I have a circle of good friends," he told her. He could see that this surprised them. "Listen, I know you guys feel it's important to protect your secret and all and I can understand that. Only about seven people know what I am and I trust them and they trust me. They help me through the hard times. And believe me when I say that Sunnydale has beings much more strange than me."

"Yes, you said it was on some sort of hell mouth?" Vivian said cautiously.

"Yeah, and actually I try and do some good for others. My friends and I help keep the demon and vampire populations down," Oz told her. Vivian looked at Sherman now.

"Demons and vampires? Is this possible Sherman?" Vivian asked.

"Well," said Sherman, "actually it is possible. I've come across a few such creatures myself in my travels long ago." Now everyone looked at Sherman in disbelief. Why had he never mentioned these things before?

"What are we going to do Vivian?" Matt asked.

She looked back at Oz. "Well, you came to Wolf Lake to find out about your family and now you have. Are you willing to live here? Your girlfriend can stay too without any harm to her if she keeps our secrets quiet."

Oz looked down towards the ground and said softly, "I already have a home." Then he looked over at Buddy and said, "I'd really like to get to know you a bit if you feel the same. My girlfriend and I made a reservation at the hotel. If you let us, we can visit for a week and when we leave I promise that we will keep your secret safe with us. After all, you guys know my secret too."

Before Vivian could answer Lucas came through the door of the office. "Hey, what's up?" he said as his eyes fell on Oz. So this is the guy, he thought. He glanced over at Tyler.

"Well, Buddy just found out he's got a little brother," said Vivian. "I'll explain it all to you later Lucas."

"Yeah, cool," he said and he turned to go upstairs to his bedroom. Buddy's brother! Lucas did not expect that. It did not sound like the guy was going to get executed after all. He was kind of hoping that he could manage to get Buffy to kick Tyler's ass. But she won't do it if she thought Oz was going to be safe. Lucas began to devise a plan in his head. Buffy didn't have to know that Oz was safe, he decided. Time for the little slayer to kick some Creed ass. He went into his room and dialed Buffy's cell number.

**Please send me a review. I'd love to hear from you!**


	9. Right and Wrong

**Dear Readers, this chapter concludes the Birthrite fiction. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I tried to add some humor to it as well as I found the Wolf Lake series could be very humorous at times.**

**Please let me know. Reviews are the manna of writers. Thanks!**

**Right and Wrong**

Sophia came walking into the Wolf Lake police department, carefully looking around. She knew her Dad wasn't here and that is exactly what she wanted. John Kanin sat at his desk talking on the phone and Deputy Molly was sitting at the front counter doing paperwork.

"Oh hello Sophia," said Molly with a smile. "How are you? Feeling any better?"

"Loads," Sophia smiled back. She glanced around some more. "Uh, Molly, can we talk? You know, somewhere in private?" Sophia looked at John Kanin and Molly knew that this was about the offer she made to Sophia last night.

"Sure," Molly answered. She looked around at Kanin too. "How about we go for a drive or something?"

"Sounds good," Sophia replied. "I just have to deliver this file for Mr. Kanin from my Dad."

"Here, I'll give it to him," Molly smiled. She took the file and handed it to John who was still on the phone. He waved his thanks as Molly and Sophia walked out the door.

As they were getting in the squad car Sophia exclaimed, "Oh wait! Need to use the restroom first. Be right back." Sophia ran back into the station, glancing at Kanin on the phone as she walked past him to the bathroom. She carefully made her way to Molly's desk as silently as she could and took what she needed before heading back out to Molly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Luke sat on a log as he waited for his sister Ruby to appear. He had sent out a private distress signal to her awhile ago and he knew she would not ignore it. Luke was the only other person in town that she cared about besides John Kanin.

Soon a snow white wolf came padding into view and stood before him.

_What is the emergency Luke?_

"How would you like your dream to come true Ruby?" Lucas said with a smile.

_What are you talking about?_

"Well, picture this," Lucas explained while holding up his hands like a frame. "Evil villain gets slain and beautiful princess rides off into the sunset with her prince to live happily ever after."

The white wolf stood there staring at him.

"Well?" said Luke, "Aren't you even a bit happy about that?"

_You can't get away with killing Tyler, Lucas, even if your mother is Alpha. He would have to break a major law for it to be allowed. And even if you tried, he always has that big oaf, Buddy Hooks, with him as well as others._

"I won't be doing the killing," Lucas told her. "There is this strong chick in town who slays bad guys. She's pretty pissed at Tyler for messing with her friend. I just sent her over to his house to wait for him."

_They'll kill her Lucas! Why didn't you tell me this before you sent the girl to her death? I better go over there and send her away before he gets home._

The wolf turned around to run off but Lucas quickly said, "Wait Ruby! There's more…"

Ruby turned around to listen once again.

"This girl won't have to fight him alone because someone else is going to come to her rescue," Luke told her.

_Who Luke?_

Lucas gave his sister a huge grin. "Someone who's going to be extremely happy that you're a widow."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Willow walked into the diner and sat down at the counter, waiting for the person she came here to meet. Then Sophia came out of the kitchen doors with a platter in her hands and spotted Willow. She set down her load and said, "Hey."

Willow gave her a small smile. "Thanks so much for getting my stuff for me. It was nice of your boyfriend to help us like this."

Sophia pulled out Willow's bag that she had stolen from Molly's desk earlier and handed it to her over the counter.

"He's not my boyfriend," Sophia explained. "He just thinks he can boss everyone around. I only did this because he explained your situation to me and I felt sorry for you guys. Besides, you'll be helping a few other people in this town that I really like a lot."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked. Buffy and Xander had left for Tyler's house a half an hour ago. Luke had told them that Tyler was keeping Oz in a secret room of his home and that they may have to torture Tyler to get it out of him. Willow did not want to witness that so she opted to stay back. Besides, Luke had also told her that Sophia would have her stuff for her at the diner.

Sophia now realized that Luke had not told them about Ruby and John and she decided that she shouldn't either. "Well, I just meant that by getting rid of the town bad guy, you'll be saving others in the future."

"Get rid of?" Willow pondered. "We just want Oz back. We have nothing against you guys. Buffy wouldn't kill him unless she had to defend her own life or the life of others against death."

"Exactly," Sophia said as she lifted her tray back up and walked over to a table on the far side of the room. Willow felt more worried about her friends now than ever. She stood up and made her way towards the door only to be stopped by a smiling Oz standing in her way. Behind him stood one of the guys she recognized as being Oz's kidnapper.

"Oz!" Willow exclaimed nervously as she glanced at Buddy behind him.

"Hey Will," Oz smiled one of his rare smiles. He knew he would shock her tremendously and he was enjoying the expression on her face. "I'd like you to meet my big brother, Buddy."

"You're brother?" stammered Willow, as she did whenever she was nervous.

"Yeah… can you believe it? You were right Will. I do have family," Oz said.

He studied the worried expression on her face. "I heard you had a rough night too. Are you o.k.?"

Willow tried to get over her shock. "But … but… they shot you and took you away in a cage and… locked you in a secret room!"

"We didn't figure all this out until this morning," Oz explained. "They asked me if we would like to live here in Wolf Lake, but I don't think that's a good idea, considering that I don't have control with full moons like they do and the fact that the moon is full every night around here."

Willow shook her head. This was all too much to take in. "What? Always full? And… and… aren't you supposed to be locked up at some guy's house? Someone named Tyler Creed?"

"Well, I was until this morning. Everything's going to be fine now Willow. The police won't look for you anymore either," Oz said.

Willow turned pale. "Oh God," she whimpered. Oz put his arm around her.

"What is it Willow?" he asked, looking concerned now.

"Buffy went to Tyler's house to rescue you," Willow moaned.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

John Kanin had been making phone calls all morning and was just settling down to his refill of coffee as he noticed the file that Sophia had brought in this morning.

He flipped it open while taking a sip and just about spit up his coffee when he saw what was inside.

Inside the files were pictures of young women, all with labels stuck on them that gave their dates of birth and death. There was a note inside that explained that these girls were all victims of a serial killer in Wolf Lake. There was also an envelope that said URGENT on it in red letters. John tore it open and pulled out a picture of a petite young blonde woman. On an attached note was the message:

**This girl will be terminated today at 2:00 p.m. Please help her Mr. Kanin. We cannot let Tyler Creed continue his slaughter of innocent girls. **

Tyler Creed! John should have known that Tyler Creed was a psycho! He always sensed that there was something seriously wrong with the guy. John checked his watched. It was 1:54! John made sure he had his gun and took off out the door. He would thank Sophia later for finally telling him the town's secret. Why did they all feel the need to protect him like they have been?

The guy must have been using some kind of threat against the town? Well, Tyler's reign of terror would end today, John vowed to himself.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tyler was exhausted. He contemplated getting a few hours of sleep as he pulled up in front of his home. Then he would continue his search for his missing wife. "Fricken John Kanin," Tyler mumbled as he remembered how Kanin had opened the door to Ruby's cage and set her free yesterday evening when he and Buddy had left his truck for a few minutes.

He made his way down his walkway when he noticed a pair of legs sticking out from the bushes. Looking around and approaching cautiously, Tyler craned his neck over the bush and noticed it was one of his guards, Johnny, knocked completely out cold. Tyler bent down and grabbed Johnny's walkie talkie. "Hey, where is everyone?" Tyler whispered into the device. Tyler received no answer back. He usually had at least three guys hanging around including Buddy. But he had let Buddy spend the rest of the day with Oz. So where were Sam and Amos?

Tyler backed away from the house and ran to the garage. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Xander standing there next to the work bench holding a crow bar in his hands.

"Looking for this," said Xander, smacking the crow bar against one of his palms.

Tyler looked confused. A human knocked his guys out? Three skin walkers had been taken out by a human? There had to be more of them. Tyler looked around for more and as he spun around the air was slugged out of him by an ungulate woman. "What the hell?" gasped Tyler. He could not believe how strong she was.

When he stood up straight again his eyes began to glow. He growled and swiped at her only to have her grab his arm and toss him in the air. He landed a few feet from his truck. Now he was really pissed off. He snarled as he stood up and came for her. Suddenly he stopped and stared as she had pulled a long and shiny silver stake.

"Meet Mr. Pointy the Second, silver version," Buffy told him. "Now, either Mr. Pointy and Tyler Creed get to know each other intimately or Tyler Creed tells the girl where Oz is."

"Your one stupid bitch, you know that?" Tyler said. "Oz is safe with his brother."

"Don't believe anything he says," said a woman's voice. They all looked towards Tyler's house to see a beautiful dark haired woman standing on the porch. She made her way down towards them.

"Ruby!" Tyler exclaimed.

Ruby did not even look at Tyler. She looked straight at Buffy and said, "He's got your friend in the basement of the house. The entrance is in the kitchen pantry."

"What! That's a lie! What the hell are you doing Ruby?" Tyler yelled at her.

"Go and get your friend," Ruby told Buffy. "I'll keep an eye on Tyler."

Buffy wasn't sure she trusted either of them but she had already checked out the house earlier except for this basement in the pantry. She hadn't noticed it before.

"I'll watch them Buff," said Xander, still brandishing his crow bar. Buffy threw the silver stake to him and ran into the house.

Buffy found a trapdoor in the floor of the pantry and threw it open. Climbing down a ladder, she called out, "Oz?" Suddenly the trapdoor slammed shut above her, leaving her in pitch dark. As she climbed the ladder again she could hear the sound of something heavy being dragged over the top. She pushed with all her might but she couldn't seem to open it. "This is just great! What a lame ass trick you fell for Buffy," she told herself.

Outside, Ruby waited for a signal from an upstairs window. When she saw Luke wave at her she looked again at Tyler.

"Go ahead and take care of the girl Tyler. I'll handle this one," she turned towards Xander. Xander held the stake higher.

"We'll just see what Mr. Pointy has to say about that," said Xander as he took a few steps back.

Tyler smiled at Ruby. "I knew you were my girl, honey. Looks like dinner is served." Tyler turned towards the house and ran up the porch steps.

When Tyler had left, Ruby smiled at Xander. "Relax. I'm on your side. Tyler Creed is about to get what he deserves."

Just then John Kanin's motorcycle came roaring down the driveway. He skid to a halt and let the bike drop to the ground in surprise. "Ruby!"

"John!" Ruby smiled and ran into his arms.

"Oh God, Ruby!" John said as he placed small kisses all over her face. "Where have you been?"

"I'll tell you soon. First you have to help the girl! Tyler is keeping her in the basement. He's a sick and twisted man John! He just ran into the house to finish her off," Ruby explained in a panic.

John was filled with so many extreme emotions at the moment: joy at finding Ruby, hatred for Tyler Creed, concern for this young woman in the basement, and fear of leaving Ruby to go into the house. "Promise me you'll still be here when I come back?" he said to her in agony.

"I will never leave you again John. Now go, fast. Save her from Tyler," Ruby urged.

John nodded and pulled out his gun. Giving her one last quick kiss he ran into the house. He heard a loud crash in the kitchen and he ran over to the sound. He could see the top of Tyler's head disappearing through the trapdoor. John did not know if Tyler was armed so he moved cautiously towards the opening in the floor. Down below in the dark he could hear the sounds of blows being made. The madman was beating the poor girl! He still couldn't see what was happening.

He decided that if he alerted Tyler to his presence, Tyler would use the girl as a shield or as a hostage. John fell onto his stomach and squinted down into the hole. He stuck his gun in and moved it around. His eyes were beginning to adjust a little, enough to see the white shirt of Tyler moving around. He saw Tyler throw the girl against the wall and put his hand on her throat to strangle her. He could not see how messed up Tyler was from his battle with Buffy. He had lost a few teeth and his eyes were beginning to swell.

Buffy was just about to give him a solid groin shot when a flash and loud shot echoed through the basement. She felt Tyler jerk and then a weird hissing sound came from him. He let go of her neck and fell over onto the ground with his eyes open in death and a pool of blood quickly surrounding his head. It was then she noticed the hole in the side of his head. She looked up at the top of the ladder as a man came climbing down with a gun in his hand.

"You o.k.?" he asked her.

"Um… yeah. You didn't have to do that. I was winning you know," she said.

John gave her a strange look. How could the girl joke at a time like this?

But he was anxious to get back outside and make sure Ruby was still there. He grabbed Buffy's hand. "Come on, let's get out of here," he said.

When they came outside, John ran up to Ruby and they began to kiss passionately, tears running down their faces.

Xander looked at the confused look on Buffy's face. "It's o.k. They're on our side," he said.

Just then Luke came around the side of the house with a duffel bag in his hands. "It's not much, but I stuck a wad of money in there too to give you guys a start."

"What do you mean?" asked Kanin with his arms still around Ruby.

"You guys have got to get the hell out of here, and quick. You too Buffy and Xander," Lucas said.

"He's right," said Ruby. "They are going to have guys looking for us when they find Tyler. This is our chance John. Let's just do it. Let's just disappear together." John smiled at her and squeezed her tight.

"I have a million questions for you Ruby, but they can wait. Let's get to safety first," John told her. Then he took the duffel bag from Lucas and strapped it onto his motorcycle. "Thanks man," he said as he shook Luke's hand.

Ruby now hugged Lucas, "I'm going to miss you little brother."

"Yeah, me too," Luke replied. "Take care of her Kanin."

"I will," assured John.

"Ruby," Lucas said, "when I'm Alpha, you two will be welcome to come back anytime you want."

"We just might," she smiled at her brother as she slipped on her helmet. Ruby got on the bike behind John and hugged him tight from behind. Off they rode into the sunset.

Lucas now turned to look at Buffy when his sister and Kanin were no longer in sight.

"Feeling a little used here," Buffy commented to him after witnessing this whole drama.

Lucas shrugged and smiled at her. "Tyler Creed shot my Dad. He also was screwing my mom, even at her husband's funeral. He was holding Ruby here against her will. So…" Lucas looked towards the house and then back at Buffy, "I guess you could say that justice was served today. Thanks."

Buffy sighed, "Come on Xander, let's go find Willow and Oz and get the hell out of here."

"Uh wait!" said Lucas. "Nobody really knows about you two. But they do know Willow and Oz. If they leave town, then they'll be suspects too. They've got good alibis right now so I think you two should let them stay a few more days while you head out now."

"He's got a point," said Xander.

Buffy did not like to leave without her friends. "O.K. we'll leave. But you have to tell Willow to call me on my cell ASAP. If I even get the feeling that she's not alright then I'm turning our butts back around and coming to get them. I want to hear Oz speak too."

"Deal," said Luke. He watched them drive away on the Harley, wishing that he had one of those. He made his way over to where he had left his car in the woods after he had distorted any footprints on the ground.

Time to work on my alibi, he thought. He headed off towards his friend's house to set it up.

**The End**

**I hope you enjoyed this "lost episode". And yes, I did enjoy killing off Tyler Creed. LOL**

**Please review this story! Thank you in advance!**


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